Challenge #35—While of These Emblems

First of all, I apologize to anyone who has needed a new challenge for a few weeks…I really try to get new ones up every couple of weeks but sometimes life just gets in the way and time slips away.  I’m trying!  Today we do have a new challenge, and it’s a good one!

What are your thoughts, feelings and testimony about the Sacrament?

(Source)

This is something I never thought about recording before a few weeks ago.  Not coincidentally, I was listening to some older conference talks and one came up talking all about the Sacrament.  It’s by Elder Dallin H. Oaks, and it is an amazing talk—I recommend you read it or listen to it right now!  You can find it right here.  This talk is going to be the basis of our next FHE. 

So, you know the drill by now, right?  Think about how you feel about the Sacrament, then record your thoughts, feelings and testimony about it in the way you choose!  If you’re new here, see the tab up above for ideas of different ways of how you can record it your way.   

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What I did:

I haven’t had time to do my normal scrapbook page, so I just typed up a quick few paragraphs about how I feel about the Sacrament. 

When I think about the Sacrament, many things run through my head.  As a child, I never really understood what it was except a little snack.  As a teenager, I knew it was a way to renew my baptismal covenants and remember Christ.  All of that changed when I went away to college.

I remember my first Sunday at Church.  We actually met in the auditorium of an elementary school, which I thought was strange and wondered if I’d be able to feel the Spirit while not in an actual Church house.  We sang the Sacrament song, and during the prayer and the passing of the sacrament, it was deathly quiet.  I’d never experienced that before, and the Spirit was so strong that I vividly remember the warm feeling in my  heart.  It was the first time I realized how important the Sacrament really is.

As I grew accustomed to the quiet Sacrament meetings in that singles ward and others, I felt like I was sitting next to my Savior each Sunday.  It was really quite a renewal to my Spirit, and I looked forward to it each week. 

After I got married, it was quite a stark contrast to suddenly be in a family ward with all the kids talking, crying and sometimes screaming.  I still tried really hard to focus on the Sacrament, often reading scriptures or Hymns to help me.  But when I had children of my own, who were often crying or struggling during the Sacrament, I realized that I wanted to find a way to again capture that feeling I’d felt in my singles wards. 

I figured the best plan, would be to help my children think about Christ during that time, so that I could to.  We’ve done pictures of Christ, the illustrated scripture stories, The Friend magazine, and sometimes I’ve let them color pictures.  It’s my goal as a mother to really instill understanding of the sacredness of the Sacrament into my children’s minds and hearts. 

As they’ve gotten older, they have learned to be reverent and quiet during that time.  I find I can once again ready the words in the sacrament hymns or the scriptures and remember my Savior, and every precious drop of blood that He shed for me. 

I am so grateful for the Sacrament and for the opportunity I have to each week renew my covenants with Him, and to feel of His love for me. He has given us this great gift to be closer to Him, and I look forward to this sacred ordinance each week. 

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Now I challenge you to record your thoughts, feelings and testimony about the Sacrament!

Challenge #34--Now That's Love

Tomorrow is the official "Day of Love"--Valentine's Day!  So, I thought I'd do a fun little challenge on expressing our love to those we love!

What do you love about your spouse?  (Or child(ren), parent, finance, etc.)

I have found that as each day goes by, I love my husband more and more.  I love my children more and more.  It never ceases to amaze me that my love never stops growing for them!  I tell them often that I love them, but I never really tell them why.  You may be the same way, so now this is your chance to record a few things that you love about your spouse or anyone else that you love! 

Here a few ideas of what you could do to record this challenge:
*Make a list, such as "50 Reasons I Love You", or "How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways!".
*Use the letters from the person's name and write one quality about that person that starts with that letter.
*Write a poem about that person and how your love grows each day for them.
*Make a scrapbook page with a picture of you and the person and write why you love him/her.
*Draw or paint a picture of one thing you love about this person.
*Make a video with pictures and text telling reasons.
*Cut up a few slips of paper and write one reason on each slip of paper.  Put them all together in a special container, inside a favorite candy or in balloons!

How ever you do this, make sure you make a copy of what you've written and put it in a special place!

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What I did:

I actually did this quite a few years ago, but still wanted to share it anyway.   Every night I write in my journal, and in this journal, I added one thing that I love about my husband each night in the back.  I used different pens and font styles.  It reminds me of those "Smash Books" that are pretty popular right now.  I love looking back at some of the things that I wrote--all of which are true still, but I have more to add to it 7 years later! 

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Now I challenge you to record some things you love about someone special in your life! 

(Re)Challenge #20—Miracles Never Cease

So when I gave my team members the topic for today’s challenge, I didn’t realize that I’d already given it, but it’s a great one for this time of year, so we’re going to do it again!  (The original challenge can be found here.)

What are some miracles that have happened in your life?

On the original challenge I wrote: You can list or write about a few of them—big or small.  (Sometimes it’s a miracle for that I didn’t kill a certain child, ha ha!)  You can focus on the details of one miracle that you’ll never forget and want to record.  You can start a miracle journal, where you write the little miracles that happen everyday.  The possibilities are endless!

Here are some ideas for you to record this challenge!

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What Robin did:

Here I am doing my SECOND challenge and I am still so excited to be here. Now, for those of you who read my last post/confession, I am truly sorry for the heaviness I brought about in that post. I didn’t mean to seem like such a “Debbie downer” or turn the post into something negative, it was never my intention and I am sorry to those of you who may have taken it that way.

Anyhow, on to this week’s challenge, which is: “What was a miracle that has happened in your life?”

This question here is a particularly loaded one for me, as I have witnessed many MANY miracles in my life, and while I have narrowed it down to just one miracle for this particular post, I still feel the need to mention how thankful I am for a couple of other miracles in my life. I nearly lost my brother in a snowboarding accident, where he punctured a lung, broke ribs, lacerated his spleen and ripped up his kidneys, and still lives to this day to tell the tale. I love him and am so grateful he is still in my life to this day.

I nearly lost my daughter Allyson when she was 3 years old. She climbed the dresser in her bedroom, which had a TV on top of it, and it all came crashing down. She fractured her skull in 6 places, and was life-flighted to Primary Children’s Medical Center in SLC, Utah, where she was treated for a severe concussion and nothing more. She had a bleed in her brain that the doctors were worried about which is why she was life-flighted in the first place. I am so very thankful to my Heavenly Father for sparing her life, for allowing me to continue to take care of her on this earth in this life.

However, the biggest miracle of my life came about when I was about 10 years old. We were out at the lake jet skiing with my family and another family. It was getting late and dark and we were packing up to leave. My brother was still out on his jet ski, so my mom jumped on hers and headed out on the lake to find him. Just a few minutes later, my brother came riding up to the dock on his jet ski in a complete panic, just sobbing uncontrollably. We were finally able to figure out that my mom had been hit by another jet ski while on her own jet ski. The other rider had apparently (not purposely) used the front end of my mom’s jet ski as a ramp and hit her head full on with his own jet ski.

Thankfully my mom had her life jacket on, and I am even more thankful to the 3 teenage boys who were in a boat nearby that pulled my mom out of the water, saving her life, and bringing her to us. I remember that I could hear her cries of pain from the boat way before she even reached the dock. (Wow, I am crying even as I write this, every time I think up this memory, it still bring tears to my eyes, aches my heart, but always makes my heart swell with love and gratitude to my Heavenly Father for sparing my mother’s life.)

My father and the father of the family I came with carried my mom to our car. I remember being in a complete panic. I remember seeing my mom holding MY t-shirt that I had worn to the lake, up to her bloody face to help soak up blood and stop the bleeding. I can still hear her screams; I can still hear her crying. I can still see the police lights out the back window of our car that my dad ignored until the cop realized we were rushing to the hospital and raced ahead of us to clear an easy path to the emergency room.

I remember those first 2 weeks at home after my mom was released from the hospital. Her jaw had been busted and nearly every tooth had been knocked out. She had to have teeth implants and her jaw was wired shut for 6 weeks. I remember her having to drink meals from a straw; I remember my dad spoon feeding her soup. I remember lying next to her while she laid in bed, I remember holding her and hugging her.

I am so VERY VERY VERY thankful that my Heavenly Father spared her life, He must have known that I would need my mother. That she would be one of my best friends in this whole world. I would not be the mother I am today without her. I am so thankful for Heavenly Father’s hand in her life, and in mine.

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What I did:

Since I had written about a big miracle that happened to me awhile ago, but never scrapbooked it, I wanted to take the opportunity to get it done!  I’d completely forgotten about the miracle journal idea until I was re-reading the challenge from the original time.  It’s often so easy to forget or overlook those little miracles that happen everyday, and I want to remember them, so I’ve decided to add writing about everyday miracles in my journal at night (which I faithfully do already, so not a big change, just a change of thinking about what I write!).

Here’s a look at my scrapbooked page with the story I wrote about the first time I issued this challenge.

Supplies: Template, Scrapping With Liz.  Papers, Crystal Wilkerson.  Fonts, Scriptina, Sketch Rockwell, Century Gothic.

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Now I challenge you to record about some of the miracles in your life!

 

And….

Don’t forget about the very special December we’re going to have here on the TIMC—LDS. 

Anyone can send me a finished challenge of any kind, sharing how you and your family keep Christ as the focus of your Christmas!  This will be a great opportunity to help others start some new traditions in their homes!  (See details here.) 

Challenge #31—Young People

Are you in shock?  What’s this…a new challenge?  Yep, it is!  It’s been awhile forever, since there’s been a new one.  I apologize profusely if you have been waiting on edge for the next one to come. 

Here’s the newest challenge for you today…

What was your favorite part about YM/YW? 
(As an adolescent and/or adult leader.)

Remember, there are so many ways you can complete challenges!  Just getting it recorded somehow and in some way is better than nothing!  Write it, video it, scrapbook it, audio record it and if you’re ambitious, you can make a movie or write a play or book! 

Also, remember that we are all human, and it’s okay to write about things you’ve struggled with, and some of your flaws.  It will make you more real to your posterity…just imagine when your grand-daughter is reading your journal in 50 years, do you want her to feel so inadequate to this “perfect” you?  Probably not, so don’t hesitate to write the bad as well as the good.  Tell it like it is/was!

Here’s a look at what Robin and I did to help jumpstart your recording process. 
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What Robin did:

Well, I have actually been blessed enough in my life that I get to speak about both perspectives. I was just released just about a year ago as the Mia Maid Advisor, which I was saddened by, but I wouldn’t have traded my time with those girls for anything in the world!

My experiences in young women’s growing up were incredible. I loved all of my leaders, but just a couple of them still stick out in my mind, Bobby Jo John and Teresa Southwick. What made them stick out to me was that their lessons always held the spirit. I FELT it every time they taught. They taught with such conviction, confidence and love. I also remember that with every lesson that they taught, they always had a special handout to go with it. Not just a simple piece of paper with a quote on it, but some kind of object WITH the quote to help us remember. I still have nearly every hand out they ever gave me in my memory box, a couple of them are even displayed in my house now.

I knew that when I became a leader, I wanted to be everything to those girls that those leaders were to me. I wanted to make sure that I took the time to study those lessons, to be able to teach those lessons without reading from the manual. I wanted to make sure those girls felt comfortable talking to me, to their peers, and speaking up during class. Of course, I also wanted to make sure they got a hand out each lesson, and I always spent extra time throughout the week trying to make them perfect.

Of course my calling came with its challenges too. When I was first called to the position, I was terrified. I was going to be working with girls in high school, and I felt like I was going back to high school all over again. It made me nervous because I didn’t want to be judged again. If there is one thing I think we all know and remember from high school is being judged. I didn’t want to be the girl who wasn’t noticed anymore. I wanted to be the girl that everyone liked. For once, I wanted to be popular.

And to start out with, I was far from popular. My hands and voice shook as I taught lessons. My conversations outside the classroom and activities with the girls felt awkward and forced, and to top it all off, I found myself jealous of my partner in young women’s. She had already been in her calling for I think at least a year before me; she was best friends with the young women’s president and best friends with each of the girls. I found myself jealous because she had the kind of relationship with the girls that I DREAMED of having.

I know, I just revealed a not so pretty side to myself, but it’s the truth. I didn’t want to go unnoticed once again. In all honesty though, no matter how much I tried, the girls still didn’t seem to want to open up to me, to allow me to not only be their leader, but to be their friend. It wasn’t until my partner got released and I got a new partner that the girls started opening up to me.

Thinking back now, I definitely took for granted my time with them, because it seemed that just as soon as the girls had accepted me, I was released. Even as I write this I find myself feeling ashamed. Looking back, I was selfish. I took that calling as a way to feel accepted, a way for me to replace that hollow feeling that I had in high school. Now don’t get me wrong for those of you who know me and are reading this, I had some pretty incredible friends, who I still am close to to this day, but I still wanted more. I wanted so badly to be part of the “cool kids” group. Most of them were LDS girls, who dressed modestly just like me, who went to church and young women’s just like me, who had LDS families just like me. Why couldn’t I be just like them? Why couldn’t I have everything that they had?

I don’t mean to turn this into a sob story, a “poor me” story, but honestly, as I am writing this, I am having a HUGE insight as to why being released from my young women’s calling was so hard on me. I truly felt like I had been rejected. That I had finally been accepted into that “cool kids” group, and here I am, not even 3 years after being called, and I still ache for that feeling that I felt with those girls. I shared a connection with those girls that I can only compare to my connection with those 2 leaders I had growing up. I love those girls. I felt the spirit with those girls. I see those girls as daughters of our Heavenly Father and I still want nothing more that to make sure that those girls know their Heavenly Father, know that they can turn to him (and their parents and their leaders) for help and understanding. I don’t want those girls to feel lost in their youth like I often did.

I have a testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ and for all he has done and still does for me in my life. I believe that Joseph Smith was truly called by our Heavenly Father and his Son PERSONALLY to bring the gospel back to the people on this earth. I believe that Thomas S. Monson and all the prophets before him were also called by our Heavenly Father as well. I believe in the Church and the Book of Mormon AND the Young Women’s program and all it has to offer for today’s youth. I’m so thankful to the leaders who taught me and for the young women who accepted me. Thank you for befriending me, for being there for me, for loving me.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post/journal entry/personal confession.

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What Natalie did:

I enjoyed being a part of the Young Women's program of the church.  I have several wonderful memories of those years.  One of my favorite activities occurred each December.  The young women would adopt an elderly Sister in the ward, as a secret Santa for a month. In January we would have a special dinner and tell our Adopted Grandmothers who we were.  It was fun to try to keep our identity a secret!  One year I adopted Melba Williams.  I remember going with my mom to Sister Williams' home to drop off a secret gift, and getting caught.  Sister Williams insisted that my mom and I stay and visit with her for a little while, which we did.  It was so fun to learn about Sister Williams' life when she was my age!  She also made the worlds BEST Lemon Bars!  This friendship lasted for many years.  When her husband passed away, Sister Williams called and asked if I would play "Danny Boy" on my flute at the funeral.  As we were visiting before the funeral, Sister Williams told her children that I was her adopted Granddaughter.  From this moment on, they all adopted me as one of their own.

Several years later, Sister Williams passed away, and I was invited to play a song at her funeral.  Following the services, I was going to drive my own car to the cemetery.  As we were all getting ready to leave, Sister William's family invited me to ride with them.  When I was on my mission, this sweet family sent me letters and packages, which brightened my day!  I cherish this sweet family, and am grateful for the opportunity that I had to get to know them and to love them!

I've always wanted to serve in the Young Women's program, and I hope that someday I can.  I would love to provide the young women with the same great experiences I had, and help them to gain a testimony of the Savior.

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What I did:

I made a digi scrapbook page telling about my feelings of being both in YW and my short time as a leader.  I do have some pictures in mind, but I have to find them, scan them, and then put them in…and I can’t get to my pictures right now, so it will have to wait. But at least I have the hardest part done!

Credits: Template, Scrapping With Liz.  Papers & Elements, Persnickety Prints.  Fonts, Smiley Monster and SS Fun. 

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Now I challenge you to record some of your YW/YM experiences! 

Challenge #22--Sing a (Primary) Song!

A long time ago I gave the challenge to record your favorite Church hymn and why...now it's the same challenge, only on a primary scale.  (Pun may have been intended...)

What is your favorite Primary song and why?

Maybe you're serving in Primary right now and hear the tunes every Sunday, or maybe it's been awhile since you've heard them, but remember your favorites from long ago.   Or maybe you're new to the Church and just learning the songs.  Whatever the case may be, think of what song or songs have inspired and uplifted you, helped you through the tough times, helped you rejoice in the happy times, etc.

You can make a simple list of your favorites and explain why, or focus on one of your favorites and tell the story of why.  You could record yourself (or your family) singing or performing your favorite(s) on an instrument--even if you're not the best singer or player.  Or if you are really musically talented you can write a new arrangement of  your favorite!  You could also make a goal to memorize all the verses of your favorites!

If you are stumped and don't know what else to do, you can print off this week's Fast Form and quickly get this challenge done!  (You could also print off one for each member of your family and use this as an activity for FHE after a lesson on good music!)

You can download the Fast Form by clicking on it.  Please remember that freebies are for blog followers! :) 

I did the Fast Form this time and will have my family also do one as well.  I love having my kids do these because it not only reflects their favorites at the moment, but shows off their handwriting as well!  How fun these will be to look back on in 20 years! (Though I can't say that I love my handwriting...)

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Now I challenge you to record about your favorite Primary songs!

Challenge #21--Strengths and Weaknesses

*This week's challenge parallels quite closely to one done on the regular TIMC--you can find it here and here if you want some more ideas on completing this one!

A few weeks ago I had the chance to attend an amazing women's conference.  (I may have mentioned it a few times already...)  One of the speakers talked about how we are usually so quick to make lists of our weaknesses (and are even quicker to compare our weaknesses to other peoples strengths).  She challenged us to set a timer and write down 10 weaknesses, then do the same with writing our strengths.  Often our weakness list will be made much quicker than our strengths list.  My challenge for you today is exactly this!

What are 10 of your strengths and 10 of your weaknesses?

You can set a timer to do both or take your time and really reflect on it.  Write them in your journal, type them up, blog or scrapbook them.  Even writing a poem about some of your strengths and weaknesses.

Of course, you don't have to do 10 of each either--you can make it 5 each or 20.  You can even just focus on one of your strengths or weaknesses, or record about something that is now a strength that was once a weakness and the hard work that it required.

One of my favorite scriptures goes quite well with this challenge.  I'm sure many of you know and love it as well:  Ether 12:27. 

" And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

I have made a Fast Form for you today, with places for 10 of each things to write.  I think it would be fun to do this challenge now, and without looking, do it again in 5 years and see the differences and growth you've made!

To download the Fast Form, please make sure you're a blog follower, then click on the picture.  Thanks! ;)

Now I challenge you to record some of your greatest strengths and weaknesses!

Challenge #20—Miracles Never Cease!

This last weekend I had the opportunity to attend a women’s conference, and was it ever good!  It was a spiritual boost for me—something I really needed.  One of the speakers talked a little bit about miracles.  One of my favorite things he said was, “Normal people have miracles!”.  I immediately thought, “What a good challenge that would make!”.  So…

What are some miracles that have happened in your life?

You can list a bunch of them—big or small.  (Sometimes it’s a miracle for that I didn’t kill a certain child, ha ha!)  You can focus on the details of one miracle that you’ll never forget and want to record.  You can start a miracle journal, where you write the little miracles that happen everyday.  The possibilities are endless!

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What I did:

I decided to write the details of one miracle that happened to me that I will never forget.  I wanted to make it into a scrapbook page, but I couldn’t find the pictures, so it’s just written down for now, and when I find the pictures I’ll have to finish it.  I love that about the challenges…remember, it’s not how you record it that counts—it’s just getting it recorded that matters!  I’ve only shared this story with a handful of people, but I feel that I need to share it on here.

One Miraculous Moment

It is said that in some cases your life will flash before your eyes.  That thought never crossed my mind, but I did feel every beat of my heart and was acutely aware of 30 long seconds and my fingers gripping for dear life to the steering wheel.

I was excited.  It was time to go back to college—my sophomore year at Utah State.  I had loaded up my car and my parent’s car for the 2 hour journey.  My dad and brother were riding in my parents car, and the backseat was packed to the brim.   My car trunk was packed, and my mom was riding in the passenger seat,  with my three sisters in the back seat.  Before we left, we said family prayer.  I didn’t think much of it at the time, but now I do believe that was the key to this miracle.

All was fine for the first 20 minutes of the journey.  I was following my dad in the left lane—much too close, and somewhere between 10600 and 9000 south exits in Sandy I saw my dad swerve.  Since I was so close behind him, I didn’t have time to think, just react, when I saw a couch cushion laying in the middle of the lane.  I panicked and swerved too far to the left, then over-corrected to my right.  The car spun around as it crossed the freeway and all we could do was scream. 

It was at that moment that time seemed to stand still for me.  30 seconds seemed to turn into 30 minutes as we spun around, facing traffic coming toward us at high speeds.  My fingers gripped the steering wheel in fear. I don’t remember thinking much other than I was going to die and kill half of my family too. 

All of the sudden the car stopped.  And we were in the dirt on the right side of the freeway, facing the wrong way.  The cars zoomed past by us, like nothing had ever happened.  Miraculously there had been a break in traffic just big enough for us to get through.

I sat there while my mom and sisters jumped out of the car.  My mom ran around to me and opened the door with tears of gratitude in her eyes.  She pried my trembling fingers away from the steering wheel and embraced me. 

A few cars had stopped to see if we were okay.  Someone called the police.  I was suddenly surrounded by a lot of people whom I’d never met, but were happy that we were okay.  One man told me, “That was the best driving I’ve ever seen!”  But I know I wasn’t the one holding the wheel.

My dad had seen me swerve in his review mirror, and had to make his way over to the right side of the freeway. When he got over, he and my brother ran back to find us.  They weren’t sure what the end result was, and were much relieved to find we’d walked away unscathed. 

A few men walked around and looked at my car, just to make sure it could be driven, they were all astonished that it was in perfect working order.  The alignment was the only thing that had been affected in anyway.  I had my mom drive the rest of the way to Logan, because I was not emotionally capable. 

To this day I cannot tailgate, and my heart skips a beat anytime I see something in the road.  I will forever be grateful for the tender mercies of Heavenly Father that day.  Had just one thing been different that day, I would not be here today. 

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Now I challenge you to record about your miracles!

Challenge #19--CTR

We are all faced with temptations.  Some are big, some are small.  Some have small consequences, and some have large ones.  What really matters is that you make the best choices you can in the way you know how.  Sometimes that’s hard.  Really hard.

What was a temptation you faced, but chose the right instead?

I think this is an awesome challenge to complete, not only to remind yourself that you can overcome, but to help others like your children, grand children, nieces/nephews, neighbors, YM/YW, etc.  I think it’s good for them to see that we all have temptations and that making the right choice isn’t always easy.  Of course, you can always choose to record a bad choice you made and what you learned from it. Just be careful where you share it—we don’t need to advertise our sins to everyone.

You can complete the challenge in many different ways.  See this list if you need any ideas.  Here’s a look at what I did:

I made a digital scrapbook layout of the first time I was offered alcohol.  Yes, it was hard to say no, but I did.  And when my kids are teenagers, I WANT them to see this!

Fonts: Mountains Of Christmas, Smiley Monster.  Everything else designed by me.

I made this layout into a digital quick page.  If you are a digital scrapbooker, you can use this to do any layout that you have one small picture and a lot of journaling for!  Just click on the picture below to download!

Now I challenge you to record about a time that you overcame!

P.S.  Did you see the cute free Valentine’s Day card printables over at the original This Is Me Challenge?

Challenge #17—One Tenth

“I want to give the Lord my tenth, for every time I do, it makes me think of all the gifts He gives to me and you.  He gives us life, this lovely world, and though my tenth seems small, it shows my faith and gratitude to Him the Lord of all.”   -Children’s Songbook, 150

I taught a lesson in Primary a few weeks ago about tithing.  I had one apple, cut it into ten slices and asked the children who would give me just one slice back if I gave them the whole apple.  All of them said they would!  Heavenly Father gave us everything we have here on the earth and really when you stop to think about it, one tenth of our increase is not that much to give back.  It’s all His anyway!  So here’s the challenge for this week:

How did you gain your testimony of tithing?

Record your testimony about tithing, and share the story of how you came to learn the importance of this commandment.  You can write it in your journal, or on the computer.  You can make a scrapbook page or do a video recording of you.  And don’t forget to ask your family as well!

I have a tithing page in my testimony scrapbook.  I laid out some money and a tithing slip, took a picture and put it on.  Then I typed up how I gained my testimony of tithing, printed it out and put it on too.  A simple ribbon for embellishment, and I was done!

Hopefully you can read the journaling…

And here’s a Fast Form for anyone who is going to be doing these!  Please make sure you’re a follower of TIMC-LDS before you download!  Thanks!  (Click on the picture to download.)

Now I challenge you to record your testimony about tithing!

Challenge #15—Called to Serve

Happy New Year!  The first LDS Challenge for the year is here today!  If you’re not a regular over at the original This Is Me Challenge, you may want to check out this week’s challenge to help you set your goals this year!  (I even put a quote from General Conference in there!)
Now to this challenge…

What Church callings have you had so far?

I thought it’d be good to record the Church callings I’ve had so far, because as time goes on, it’s getting more and more difficult to recall all of them.  Plus someday I’m sure my kids will have fun looking at my list.  I guess this is something you can update every few years too.

Of course you can do this challenge many ways:  write it in your journal, type it up on your computer, make a scrapbook layout, do a video or voice recording, or whatever you like!

I did something for today that I’ve never done on the TIMC LDS blog—a Fast Form!  If you’re a TIMC fan, you know that I’ve been making these to help you record your info in record time.  And this year, I decided I need to put a little more gusto into this blog.  

Here’s what the Fast Form looks like.  You can click on the picture to download one for yourself. (Then you can print it and write in the answers or type on it.) The only thing I ask if you decide to download freebies, is that you please become a follower of the TIMC-LDS blog over on the right (or on the top bar).  That’s not too steep of a price, right? 



I love the Fast Forms because it’s how I get my hubby to do the challenges!
Also, just for a happy new year present, you can download a 12x12 digital version of the blue “Called to Serve” paper by clicking on it. 



It’s simple, but you can use it to help  you make pages about your callings or use it for missionary layouts.  (Speaking of missionary stuff, I’ve got some BIG exciting news…not quite ready yet, but REALLY soon, like next week!)

Now I challenge you to record your Church callings!

Challenge #13—Tradition

With the holidays just around the corner, I have been thinking more and more about traditions, but not just holiday traditions.  I have been thinking about the every day things that I am doing with my family to help build that special bond!

What are some of your every day traditions?

This may seem like a silly question at first.  If you’re like me, your first thought is, “I don’t have any traditions”.  But when I really stopped to think about it, I started seeing traditions that were never really meant to become traditions, but they have! 

You can do this challenge any way you want to.  Focus on one tradition and take pictures about it and write the details down.  Make a list of some of your day to day traditions.  You can start a list on a piece of paper and keep it close, so you can write down things as they come to mind.  Make a scrapbook layout, or even get the video camera out and take a video of one or more traditions! 

Get your family involved on this one!  You can do your immediate family and/or your extended family! 

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Some of our everyday traditions:

• Reading time with the kids after lunch.
• Our night-time routine (Dinner, clean up, scriptures, play, PJ’s, brush teeth, sing songs, say family prayer, kids in bed).
• Family Home Evening every Monday night.
• Asking my kids how their day at school was.
• Helping my kids with homework.
• One on one time with my kids to talk about their day.
• Going to “town” on Saturdays to run errands together.  (And sometimes dinner or lunch at Café Rio.)
• Dinner as a family every night. (With a few rare exceptions.)

Extended Family Birthday Traditions (with my hubby’s family):

• Girl’s Night Out (or day out) for birthdays of me, my SIL’s and MIL.
• Birthday dinners at my in-laws house on the Sunday before or after birthdays.  Usually we celebrate the closest birthdays. 

Things I’d like to improve on:

• Everyone recite the best and worst part of their day at dinner time. (To do more family talking at the dinner table.)
• Telling bedtime stories to the boys.  (I used to be really good at these made-up characters named Red, Blue, Yellow and Green.  They did things that my boys liked to do and learned lessons that my boys needed to.  Really need to do this every night!)

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Now I challenge you to record some of your every day traditions!

Challenge #11—Count Your Many Blessings

Since it’s the beginning of November, the month of Thanksgiving in the US, I thought this week’s challenge could be all about remembering your blessings. 

What are your many blessings?

There are hundreds of ways to do this challenge.  Make a gratitude journal and record the things you are grateful for each day.  Similar to that is that you can write in your regular journal each day and record seeing the hand of God in your life (Bonus Challenge #1).  Take on the gratitude challenge (Bonus Challenge #3).  Make a tree and add leaves of blessings throughout the month, or do it with a turkey and feathers.  Have your family write their blessings on a poster board or large piece of paper (see here).  Write your blessings on slips of paper, put them in a box and read them as a family on Thanksgiving.  Make a scrapbook layout showcasing your top blessings.  Post one of your blessings each day on your blog or Facebook/Twitter.  And there are tons more of ideas floating all around cyber-space right now!

A number of years ago, for Family Home Evening, my husband and I set a timer for 5 minutes and wrote the whole time all the blessings we could think of.  At first we wrote things down quickly, like family, a home, the Gospel, etc.  Then we both started to slow down.  We really had to start thinking about the little blessings in life that we don’t normally think about. 

When the timer went off, we shared our lists with each other (our oldest was only a baby at the time so he didn’t have much to add).  We complied the list into 100 things that we were grateful for and named it “Our Top 100 Blessings”.   Yes, there are some things that I was more grateful for than my husband and vice-versa, but it’s fun to see other’s favorite blessings on there too! 

I typed it up, organized it in alphabetical order and printed it off.  We still have it hanging up today on our hallway bulletin board. 

This is a closer look—I had to patch it together so it looks like it’s 3 papers, but it’s really just one.  You just couldn’t read it unless I did this.   Also, you can see the wear and tear on it, but that’s what makes it special!

Last year around this time we had our then 5 and 4 year olds help us make a new list.  (We had to add in things like toys.)  It’s always a good reminder for our family to see it—it helps us remember what really is important in life and that we truly are very blessed! 

Now I challenge you to record your blessings!

Challenge #10—Favorite Scripture

This is the last challenge of the Book of Mormon/Scripture series, which I have loved doing!  It’s been fun to focus on one topic—at least I think it has been!

What is your favorite Book of Mormon scripture and why?

This one is pretty self-explanatory, and you can do it in many different ways.  You can just write it down in your journal, blog about it, type it up on your computer to print off.  You can write a poem or a song about it, or scrapbook about it.  The possibilities are many! (And you don’t have to do a Book of Mormon one, it can be one from the Bible if that’s your favorite—the point is to just record what your favorite scripture is.)

My favorite scripture is Alma 37:37.  It says:

“Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning, let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.”

I don’t remember when it became my favorite, but I’ve loved it for quite awhile.  It always reminds me that no matter what I do, I need to pray about it.  (Well, not the everyday things like which shirt to wear—but you get my drift.)  We need to keep a prayer in our hearts, pray when we go bed, pray when we wake up, and be thankful to God always.  The promise if we do this, is that we will be lifted up.  What a glorious promise!  I know that prayer isn’t the only thing we need to do, but if we pray, then we will be led in making all the other righteous choices that we need to.

Now, I challenge you to record your favorite scripture!

Challenge #5—A Proclamation to the World

Tomorrow is the 16th anniversary of the official announcement of “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”, AKA “The Family Proclamation”!  Since it is, I thought I’d base this week’s challenge on it.

The Challenge:  “What are your feelings for, or experiences with the Family Proclamation?”  

First of all, I encourage you to read the proclamation in it’s entirety.  Ponder and pray about the truths that are taught in it.  Find the proclamation here.  Also there’s a really good article here, written on the 10 year anniversary.  I highly recommend it!
 
Here are a few ways I thought about to fulfill the challenge this week:  (Remember to see the tabs on top for man different ideas on specific ways you can record it!)

*If you have have had a special experience regarding the proclamation, this week would be a great time to record that experience.  It doesn’t have to be the whole proclamation, it can be just one paragraph or sentence of it.  It would also be a great time to share this experience with your family! (FHE anyone?)

*If you’ve never had a specific special experience about it, I encourage you to record your feelings and/or testimony about the truths found in it.  You can also record how you feel about your family!  

*You could read the proclamation together as a family, discuss it, and talk about what all the things mean.  Or you can do it one paragraph a day/week for young’uns.

*Pick your favorite parts and underline them.  Hang it up where you can see it everyday. (I have friends that have highlighted, “wholesome recreational activities”, and hung it up at their cabin!)

*Set a personal or family goal to do better on one part this month.  Record your goal and put it where you’ll see it daily. 

*Memorize the proclamation as a family.  (That might take a year, but it would be fun!)
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For me, the proclamation has always been a firm family guideline.  Whenever I have a question, I read it first, just to remind myself of the things I should remember in the first place.  It has reminded me to be a better mother.  That my children are precious sons of God, and right now it is my responsibility to nurture them.  Even when I don’t feel like it.  Even when I’m sick or having a bad day.  Even when they are being naughty beyond all get out!  I love my family more than anything in this world, and I’m so grateful that they are mine forever.  And as long as we all heed the truths in the proclamation we can be together FOREVER!  


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If you are hungry for more ideas on the Family Proclamation, you should check out the blog “We Talk Of Christ, We Rejoice in Christ”.  There are lots of personal stories, games and ideas that all revolved around the proclamation!  Also, I’m linking up to this post on there.

Challenge #3—Hum Your Favorite Hymn

This week’s challenge is going to be short and sweet (I have a bonus challenge coming out tomorrow on the regular TIMC, so I don’t want any excuses for you to NOT do this week’s!).

What is your favorite hymn and why?

You can record just one favorite and really expound on it, make a top 5 or 10 list, record yourself playing it on the piano, blog or Facebook it, or heck if you’re musically talented, write a new arrangement of it!  (And if you decide to do that, please share it with us!)  On a graver note, this would give your relatives a good list of songs that you love, to use at your funeral…

As I was searching for a quote, I remembered that the Children’s Songbook has a letter from the First Presidency, so I looked in the Hymn book, and what do you know, there’s one there too!  I encourage you to read through it and find your favorite snippet to include in your challenge!

I made a “Top 10 List” and short explanations of why in just a Word document.  I have a folder devoted just to the challenges, and this one will be a separate document.  Short and sweet.  Easy peasy.  And since I can just copy and paste, I’ll share this one with you!
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My Top 10 Favorite Church Hymn’s List

“Hymns can lift our spirits, give us courage, and move us to righteous action. They can fill our souls with heavenly thoughts and bring us a spirit of peace.”

-First Presidency message in the LDS Hymnbook

This is a simple list of my favorite hymns. I don’t think I could ever put them in order, and truthfully, I probably have 20 favorite hymns, but listing the whole hymn book would kind of negate the whole reason of my writing this…
1. I Believe in Christ—because the words pretty much explain my testimony of Christ.
2. I Know that My Redeemer Lives—because it pretty much IS the Gospel!
3. How Firm a Foundation—a reminder to me that if we build on the Gospel foundation, we can’t fail or fall!
4. Joseph Smith’s First Prayer—this was the beginning of the Gospel in this last dispensation, and a reminder to me that faith can bring unexpected miracles.
5. The Spirit of God—I always feel the Spirit speaking to me on this one. Another testament that this IS the true Church in the Latter-Days!
6. Nearer, My God, to Thee—a classic that reminds me to draw closer to God in my trials.
7. I Need Thee Every Hour—because, truly I do need Him every waking minute of my day.  I would seriously suck at life without Him.
8. How Great Thou Art—because compared to God and Jesus Christ, I am truly nothing.
9. Where Can I Turn For Peace?—a favorite when I am going through a difficult time. 
10. Be Thou Humble—a good reminder to me when I feel pride starting to creep in.  Because, truly I am nothing without Him (see #7).
(Listed on Sept. 7, 2011)

Now take a few minutes and record your favorite Hymn(s)!

P.S.  I took the picture of the Hymn book, and you are more than welcome to right click and copy it to use for your challenge if you’d like to!  (Please don’t claim it as your own or sell it.)

Challenge #2—This Life is a Test

Welcome to the new once a week challenge on the This Is Me Challenge LDS Version!  Like the original version, there will now be a challenge question every week!  This will help you record your beliefs, your testimony, and your feelings for Gospel principles! 

You can record this however you want to.  Hand write it, type it up, take pictures, make a scrapbook page, do an audio recording of you talking about it, or have someone help you take a video of you.  You can write a song or a poem about it too!  There are so many ways you can record your story!  Your imagination is the limit!

So, now on to the challenge:

What has been the biggest trial in your life so far?  (How did you overcome it?  What did you learn from it?  Did you grow closer to Heavenly Father?)

And since I’m not going to be showing you an example of what I did, (see why here) I thought it’d be fun to share a scripture, video or quote about each challenge instead, to help inspire you. 

“…We need to remember that a fundamental purpose of life is to be tested and stretched, and thus we must learn to grow from our challenges and be grateful for the lessons that we cannot gain in an easier way.”  (Cecil O. Samuelson Jr., April 2011 General Conference.)

Now I challenge you to record about your biggest trial!